Edeson Online News: POLITICS: American President Barrack Obama & Wife May Attend Buhari's Inauguration on May 29

Monday 18 May 2015

POLITICS: American President Barrack Obama & Wife May Attend Buhari's Inauguration on May 29

As the May 29 inauguration of Nigeria’s President-elect and the Vice President-elect draws closer, pressure is mounting on the White House on who to represent the United States at the event. While the immediate past U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Johnnie Carson, is asking President Barack Obama to send his deputy, Vice President Joe Biden, to lead the American delegation to the event, a pro-Africa U.S. lobby group in Washington DC and the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans, CANAN are requesting President Obama to attend the event himself.

In a press statement over the weekend Mr. Carson, who had advised Obama as the most senior government official on Africa (after the Secretary of State) until late 2013, however, requested that the U.S. President visit Nigeria in July while heading out to East Africa as already announced.

The U.S. President is not ready yet to announce a delegation to the Nigeria’s presidential swearing-in ceremony on May 29. according to Natalie Wozniak, a White House spokesperson.

But such an announcement is expected in the forthcoming week based on traditional practices by the White House. There has been news reports and claims that Mr. Obama is planning to send a high-powered, presidential scale delegation possibly led by his wife, the VP or the U.S. Secretary of State.

Specifically regarding the Buhari-Osinbajo inauguration, Ambassador Carson noted that “President Obama should send a high level delegation to President Buhari’s inauguration in Abuja on May 29.

According to him, “this delegation should be led by Vice President Joe Biden, who engaged with both President Jonathan and with president-elect Buhari in the run-up to the presidential election.”

Continuing, the former U.S. official said if Mr. Biden “is unable to go, Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson or Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack should lead the delegation, which should include senior officials from several cabinets departments, including the Department of Defense.”

In a similar vein, CANAN and another leading U.S. group released separate statements outrightly asking the US President to be personally present at the May 29 event in Abuja.

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